IPL 2024 squad analysis: Which team has the best spin attack and is there a hidden gem of an all-rounder?

Chennai Super Kings: Lack of reliable pace bowling options

Strengths: Carrying flavours from their successful past, CSK have retained a solid core and maintained the style of players that have worked best for them. CSK have released Ben Stokes, but have acquired upcoming star opener Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell, a batsman capable of clearing the fence and with the knack of knowing when to move up a gear. Ravindra is set to replace an injured Devon Conway at the top.

Weaknesses: A mercurial pace attack comprising Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur and Tushar Deshpande. Left-armer Mukesh Choudhary is untested having last played in 2022 and death-overs specialist Matheesha Pathirana will be missed partially due to injury.

Opportunities: Shivam Dube could become the middle-overs differentiator with the bat in an order comprising several accumulators.

Threats: Lack of reliable pace bowling options.

Squad: MS Dhoni, Moeen Ali, Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Shivam Dube, Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajay Mandal, Mukesh Choudhary, Ajinkya Rahane, Shaik Rasheed, Mitchell Santner, Simarjeet Singh, Nishant Sindhu, Prashant Solanki, Maheesh Theekshana, Rachin Ravindra, Shardul Thakur, Daryl Mitchell, Sameer Rizvi, Mustafizur Rahman, Avanish Rao Aravelly, Devon Conway, Matheesha Pathirana.

Delhi Capitals: A solid spin attack

Strengths: An in-form spin attack comprising Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav form the core of their bowling plans.

Weaknesses: Their batting stocks limited largely to the top, the Capitals lack proven IPL batters in the middle-order besides Rishabh Pant.

Opportunities: A fit again Pant has his stage to take the fast lane back to the Indian side.

Threats: The Capitals may struggle to find balance with their batting order in the absence of quality finishers.

Squad: Rishabh Pant (c), Pravin Dubey, David Warner, Vicky Ostwal, Prithvi Shaw, Anrich Nortje, Abishek Porel, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Lalit Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed, Mitchell Marsh, Ishant Sharma, Yash Dhull, Mukesh Kumar, Tristan Stubbs, Ricky Bhui, Kumar Kushagra, Rasikh Dar, Jhye Richardson, Sumit Kumar, Shai Hope, Swastik Chhikara.

Gujarat Titans: The Mohammad Shami void

Strengths: The middle-order muscle comprising David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Abhinav Manohar and fresh recruits Shahrukh Khan, and Azmatullah Omarzai are enticing on paper. GT also boasts a promising spin attack.

Weaknesses: Mohammad Shami’s absence affects the sting of their pace attack.

Opportunities: Shubman Gill’s first stint as leader provides him with the opportunity to showcase another facet of his game and strengthen his credentials as a first-choice for India in T20Is.

Threats: Form of wicketkeepers Wriddhiman Saha and Matthew Wade.

Squad: Shubman Gill (c), David Miller, Matthew Wade, Wriddhiman Saha, Kane Williamson, Abhinav Manohar, B. Sai Sudharsan, Darshan Nalkande, Vijay Shankar, Jayant Yadav, Rahul Tewatia, Noor Ahmad, Sai Kishore, Rashid Khan, Joshua Little, Mohit Sharma, Azmatullah Omarzai, Umesh Yadav, Shahrukh Khan, Sushant Mishra, Kartik Tyagi, Manav Suthar, Spencer Johnson, Sandeep Warrier, Robin Minz.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Can Mitchell Starc deliver?

Strengths: Fine blend of attacking options with the bat in Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Nitish Rana, and Phil Salt. The spin bowling department promises variety.

Weaknesses: The fitness and form of captain Shreyas Iyer and all-rounder Andre Russell will be lingering concerns for the Knight Riders.

Opportunities: Roped in as a replacement for Jason Roy, Salt has a chance to put KKR’s opening woes to rest.

Threats: A pace bowling unit reliant heavily on the presence of the IPL’s most expensive signing Mitchell Starc, who is returning to the league for the first time in nine seasons.

Squad: Shreyas Iyer (c), Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Phil Salt, Sunil Narine, Suyash Sharma, Anukul Roy, Andre Russell, Venkatesh Iyer, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy, KS Bharat, Chetan Sakariya, Mitchell Starc, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Ramandeep Singh, Sherfane Rutherford, Manish Pandey, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Dushmantha Chameera, Sakib Hussain.

Lucknow Super Giants: Needed, a reliable fast bowler

Strengths: With a host of proven match-winners like KL Rahul, Quinton de Kock, Nicholas Pooran and all-rounder Marcus Stoinis in their arsenal, the Super Giants possess a well-rounded batting lineup.

Weaknesses: The pace attack brims with talent, but with England fast bowler Mark Wood skipping the IPL to manage workload, it remains short on a reliable spearhead.

Opportunities: Leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi could emerge as a key figure with the ball and cement his place in the Indian team with the T20 World Cup around the corner.

Threats: Fitness and KL Rahul’s probable change in role and the form of key bowlers returning from injuries (Shivam Mavi, Mohsin Khan) are areas of concern.

Squad: KL Rahul (c), Quinton de Kock, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Kyle Mayers, Marcus Stoinis, Deepak Hooda, Devdutt Padikkal, Ravi Bishnoi, Naveen-ul-Haq, Krunal Pandya, Yudhvir Singh, Prerak Mankad, Yash Thakur, Amit Mishra, Shamar Joseph, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan, K. Gowtham, Shivam Mavi, Arshin Kulkarni, M. Siddharth, Ashton Turner, David Willey, Mohd. Arshad Khan.

Mumbai Indians: Overdependence on Jasprit Bumrah

Strengths: An enviable batting core comprising some of the best talents from the international stage – Rohit Sharma, Suraykumar Yadav, Tim David and Ishan Kishan.

Weaknesses: Piyush Chawla, Mohammad Nabi and Shreyas Gopal have experience but with uncapped Kumar Karthikeya, Naman Dhir and Shivalik Sharma in the ranks, MI’s spin bowling back-up options remain thin on paper.

Opportunities: Free from the leadership shackles, this IPL season could help Rohit Sharma unleash his free-flowing best with the bat.

Threats: The additions of Gerald Coetzee and Nuwan Thushara have brought new ammunition but Mumbai’s bowling success relies heavily on the shoulders of Jasprit Bumrah.

Squad: Hardik Pandya (c), Rohit Sharma, Dewald Brevis, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, N. Tilak Varma, Tim David, Vishnu Vinod, Arjun Tendulkar, Shams Mulani, Nehal Wadhera, Jasprit Bumrah, Kumar Kartikeya, Piyush Chawla, Akash Madhwal, Luke Wood, Romario Shepherd, Gerald Coetzee, Shreyas Gopal, Nuwan Thushara, Naman Dhir, Anshul Kamboj, Mohammad Nabi, Shivalik Sharma, Kwena Maphaka.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Watch out for all-rounder Manoj Bhandage

Strengths: The quality of the established batters — Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis — forms a vaunted top order with a few more local options to round up the depth of their batting.

Weaknesses: Minimal options in the spin department emerge as a major chink.

Opportunities: Karnataka all-rounder Manoj Bhandage could be the player to watch out for as a potential answer to RCB’s lack of capable finishers.

Threats: There’s serious pace within their ranks in Mohammed Siraj, Lockie Ferguson and Alzarri Joseph, but the unit will be underscored by the consistency factor.

Squad: Faf du Plessis (c), Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Mayank Dagar, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Cameron Green, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Tom Curran, Lockie Ferguson, Swapnil Singh, Saurav Chauhan.

Rajasthan Royals: Can the middle-order fire?

Strengths: A batting unit exuding plenty of firepower and the experienced spin trio of R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal and Adam Zampa are positives.

Weaknesses: Middle-order batters Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag and Rovman Powell can be lethal on their day but start with an inconsistent tag.

Opportunities: Captain Sanju Samson and Chahal have another chance to shine and perhaps bolt into the Indian side for the T20 World Cup.

Threats: Lack of solid batting backups could prove costly if a couple of their lead cast misfires.

Squad: Sanju Samson (c), Jos Buttler, Shimron Hetmyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Donovan Ferreira, Kunal Rathore, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Sen, Navdeep Saini, Sandeep Sharma, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal, Adam Zampa, Avesh Khan, Rovman Powell, Shubham Dubey, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Abid Mushtaq, Nandre Burger.

Punjab Kings: Lacking experienced Indian batsmen

Strengths: The batting department contains explosive players besides quality overseas all-round options.

Weaknesses: Barring skipper Shikhar Dhawan, the batting department does not bear established Indian players.

Opportunities: Arshdeep Singh will aim to lead the PBKS attack and fortify his position in India’s T20 World Cup squad.

Threats: Shikhar Dhawan’s form and the overreliance on aggressive batting could be key pointers in Punjab’s journey.

Squad: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Jonny Bairstow, Matthew Short, Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Sikandar Raza, Rishi Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Atharva Taide, Arshdeep Singh, Nathan Ellis, Sam Curran, Kagiso Rabada, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Bhatia, Vidwath Kaverappa, Shivam Singh, Harshal Patel, Chris Woakes, Ashutosh Sharma, Vishwanath Pratap Singh, Shashank Singh, Tanay Thyagarajan, Prince Choudhary, Rilee Rossouw.

Sunrisers Hyderabad: A test for Pat Cummins

Strengths: A near-complete squad with arguably the best pool of overseas players and bowlers in the league.

Weaknesses: The team could be heavily reliant on its overseas batters to fire.

Opportunities: A fresh challenge awaits Pat Cummins in his first stint as captain, with his bowling credentials in the league still under a cloud.

Threats: Having named Cummins as the leader, SRH may struggle to attain balance in terms of its overseas quartet in the XI.

Squad: Abdul Samad, Abhishek Sharma, Aiden Markram (c), Marco Jansen, Rahul Tripathi, Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips, Sanvir Singh, Heinrich Klaasen, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Agarwal, T. Natarajan, Anmolpreet Singh, Mayank Markande, Upendra Singh Yadav, Umran Malik, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Shahbaz Ahmed , Travis Head, Wanindu Hasaranga, Pat Cummins, Jaydev Unadkat, Akash Singh, Jhathavedh Subramanyan.

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